1993 SP Derek Jeter #279

Derek Jeter's 1993 SP card, #279, is the foil-front rookie that PSA's CardFacts essay calls “clearly Jeter's most appealing rookie issue with one major condition obstacle.” The obstacle is the foil: the same page calls it “one of the toughest modern-era rookie cards to find in Mint condition.” PSA has graded about 27,950 copies, and only 22 are GEM MT 10. PSA 10s have sold publicly for between $49,000 (2017) and $340,736 (2025). This file covers the set, Jeter's 1993, why high grades are so rare, the population and the public sales record.

The card and the set

PSA's set profile describes 1993 SP as an Upper Deck issue of 290 standard 2-1/2" by 3-1/2" cards. Each front has a color action photo with the player's name along the bottom edge. Cards #1–18 are an MLB All-Stars subset and #271–290 are the foil Prospects, which PSA's CardFacts lists separately as “Derek Jeter (Foil).” Beckett's reports call that subset Premier Prospects, say it uses all-foil fronts, and describe 1993 SP as a set that “raised the bar for premium cards at the time.”

PSA names two key rookies in the set: Johnny Damon (#273) and Jeter (#279). Its regular cards include Rickey Henderson, Mark McGwire, Greg Maddux, Robin Yount, Ozzie Smith, Mike Piazza, Tony Gwynn and George Brett.

Jeter in 1993

Jeter was born June 26, 1974, in Pequannock, New Jersey, and raised in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The Yankees took him with the sixth overall pick of the 1992 draft (Hall of Fame). In 1993, the year of this card, he was still in Class A with the Greensboro Hornets of the South Atlantic League. In 1994 he moved from Tampa through Double-A Albany-Colonie to Triple-A Columbus and was named Minor League Player of the Year by Baseball America, The Sporting News and Topps/NAPBL (Wikipedia).

He debuted on May 29, 1995, became the Yankees' starting shortstop in 1996 and was the unanimous American League Rookie of the Year that season, hitting .314. He won five World Series (1996, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2009), was the 2000 World Series MVP, made 14 All-Star Games, won five Gold Gloves and was named captain in 2003 (Hall of Fame). His 3,000th hit was a home run off David Price on July 9, 2011; he played his last game on September 28, 2014, and finished with 3,465 hits, sixth in major-league history, a .310 average and 260 home runs. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2020 with 396 of 397 votes, 99.7% (Wikipedia).

Why high grades are rare

Every source on this card points to the same weakness. PSA's essay says “the dark edges, coupled with the foil coating, give this issue problems,” with many copies showing wear “from the moment they are removed from a pack.” Beckett's 2018 report says the foil “is prone to various levels of chipping”; its 2020 report calls the card “extremely condition sensitive,” with easily visible corner dings and common edge chipping, and adds that the card itself is not rare: “It's the grade that's scarce.” Heritage's lot texts call the foil the card's “Achilles' heel.”

Card outline (circled numbers):

1. Foil front: the Prospects cards #271–290 are foil (PSA set profile). PSA's essay says the foil coating, together with the dark edges, “give this issue problems”; REA praised its PSA 10s for a foil surface free of scratches or wear.
2. Dark edges: Beckett reports that the foil “is prone to various levels of chipping” and that edge chipping is common; on a dark edge it shows as white flecks. Heritage's 2026 lot text: “the slightest brush of the finger sends the grade plummeting.”
3. Corners: Beckett's 2020 report notes that corner dings are easy to see on this card.
4. Name bar: each 1993 SP front carries the player's name along the bottom edge (PSA set profile).
5. Back: graders look at the reverse too; both REA PSA 10 descriptions call the reverse clean.

Population snapshot

Of the 27,850 numerically graded copies, the 22 PSA 10s are about 0.08%, the 635 PSA 9s about 2.3% and the 9,803 PSA 8s about 35%. Adding the 100 Authentic slabs gives about 27,950 copies in PSA holders. See the population report guide for how to read the “graded higher” column.

The total has nearly doubled since 2018 while the number of 10s has stayed at 22 in every source except REA's spring 2024 lot text, which says twenty-one; the other sources before and after it, and PSA's own page today, say 22. Other graders show the same pattern. Beckett's 2020 report counted more than 15,000 BGS copies with 259 Gem Mint 9.5s and no Pristine 10; Heritage's 2021 SGC lot said only four of almost 3,000 SGC submissions had reached Gem Mint.

Notable public sales

PSA GEM MT 10 public sales, 2017–2026 (bar length = price; longest = $340,736)

1. May 2017 · public sale (Beckett)$54,576
2. Sept. 2017 · public sale (Beckett)$49,000
3. May 2018 · PWCC$99,100
4. Dec. 2019 · Heritage$138,000
5. Dec. 2019 · REA, lot 12$168,000
6. Jan. 2020 · Memory Lane$180,000
7. Spring 2024 · REA, lot 2$312,000
8. Sept. 2025 · Memory Lane$340,736
9. Feb. 2026 · Heritage, lot 80048$280,600

Sports Collectors Daily reported that the PSA 10 record fell three times in five weeks around the turn of 2020, and that $180,000 was more than five times what similar copies brought five years earlier. Prices have since nearly doubled again, though the 2026 Heritage result came in below the 2024 and 2025 sales.

One grade lower the market is very different. PSA's Auction Prices Realized list shows PSA 9s selling between $3,500 and $5,049 in 2024 and 2025, with a high of $7,900 on June 15, 2026 (cert 30727318). Cert 06193851 sold for $4,550 in May 2025 and $4,350 in October 2025. Recent listed sales include PSA 8s at $470 (March 16, 2026) and $457 (May 25, 2026) and PSA 7s at $184 to $195 (March to June 2026). The $280,600 Heritage PSA 10 brought more than 35 times the best PSA 9 sale on that list. PSA's price guide on the CardFacts page, read October 21, 2026, showed $204,000–$360,000 for a 10, $7,800 for a 9 and $600 for an 8; those are guide values, not sales.

Checking a copy

• Confirm it is #279, which PSA lists as “Derek Jeter (Foil)” in the 1993 SP set.
• Verify the cert number on the grader's own site (how) and check the holder against the fake-slab guide.
• Run a light along every edge, front and back: chipping on the dark edges shows as white flecks (see the condition glossary).
• Tilt the foil front under one light to catch scratches, and check each corner for dings.
• Compare like with like: a PSA 10, an SGC 10 and a BGS 9.5 are different grades from different companies, and sale dates matter in a market that has moved this much.
• Re-check the population on PSA's page on the day you look; the counts above are a snapshot.